Minnesota company taking over Veblen dairies

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Riverview LLP will assume management immediately after a bankruptcy judge approved a purchase agreement late last week, according to the company and court documents.

The two dairies, known as Veblen East and Veblen West, will be renamed Marshall Dairy.

"These state-of-the-art dairy facilities are capable of producing nearly 28 million gallons of milk annually," a release from Riverview said. "This purchase allows Riverview to keep two stable dairy operations in full production, which will foster employment and support the local economy."

Riverview, based in Morris, oversees about 30,000 cows at other dairies in South Dakota, Minnesota and Nebraska. It sells its milk to Queen Valley Cheese in Milbank.

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Both Veblen dairies were in bankruptcy. According to court paperwork, Riverview agreed to buy the dairies from AgStar Financial Services, the prime financier of the dairies, and the group that would have likely owned the dairies had a buyer not been found.

A group called Vista Family Farms had previously tried to buy the dairies. The state, however, would not allow the transaction if Rick Millner, who has long been involved with the Veblen dairies, was a part of the management team, according to documents filed with the state. Bankruptcy paperwork showed that Millner was involved with the Vista Family Farms.

MCC Dairy opened in Veblen in the 1990s and eventually expanded to Veblen East and Veblen West. In recent years, court and state documents show that the dairy has struggled with paying bills and environmental problems related to manure stored in lagoons.

In 2008, 14 dairy workers were charged with immigration violations, and 13 others were arrested and accused of identification theft and false identification. None of the charges was criminal; all were administrative.